2 DAYS - GIRLS  “DIGITAL TOOLS FOR SUSTAINABLE GEOSCIENCE”

Venue: UNIVERSITY OF MAIDUGURI COMPUTER AND ICT CENTER

Date: 22nd - 23TH JUNE  2022

IMPERIAL COLLEGE LONDON AND INTEGRATED WOMEN AND YOUTH EMPOWERMENT CENTRE (IWAYEC)

The Girls in STEM Mentoring Programme is funded by the Department of Earth Science and Engineering (ESE) to support Zainab Titus, who is a PhD student at the department and the founder of the Ziana Education Project at IWAYEC to run a mentoring programme for girls affected by the insurgency in northeastern Nigeria. The Department of Earth Science and Engineering (ESE) at Imperial College is committed to benefiting society through research in earth science to help our understanding of the world we live in, and societal engagement to widen access to knowledge particularly among underrepresented groups.

Following the success of the Girls in STEM outreach held from June 22nd-23rd 2022, one high-performing student was selected from each of the four participating school to participate in a month-long mentoring programme. The programme will provide the four girls the opportunity to have further training in digital learning tools, programming in python and careers in science, and particularly geoscience. This will enable the girls to refine their skills in the application of state-of-the-art tools for digital learning to enhance their academic and professional development, and have high aspirations for their future, despite the apparent limitations to education in the society. The goal of the mentoring session is to equip the selected STEM ambassadors with the necessary skills to inturn teach and build others in their communities at home and in school

The mentorship programme will continue exploring the event theme “Digital Tools for Sustainable Geoscience” in greater depths. Over the course of the month of August, the four girls, will weekly 4-hour sessions that will cover a range of topics and activities in line with the theme. Specifically, the topics will cover subjects that will:

1. Teach the practical applications of digital resources that can be leveraged for e-learning.
2. Provide in-depth knowledge on the basics of programming in python for solving science problems with a focus on geoscience and clean energy.
3. Inspire the girls to pursue careers in STEM and aspire for greatness through counselling sessions where the mentor will share her journey towards academic and career/professional success and help the mentees develop a roadmap for achieving their future ambitions.